Ray Peat on Magnesium

Short answer: Ray Peat tied magnesium to the thyroid. He wrote that cells hold magnesium only when they have energy, so a hypothyroid person loses it under stress, and that magnesium deficiency causes inflammation, cramps and soft tissue calcification.

What Ray Peat wrote about magnesium

Much of the magnesium inside a cell is bound to ATP. When stress drains the cell's energy in a hypothyroid state, the cell loses its magnesium. Source: Calcium and Disease: Hypertension, organ calcification, & shock, vs. respiratory energy, Diabetes, scleroderma, oils and hormones

T3 directly promotes the uptake of magnesium by cells. To make cells absorb and keep it, he wrote, we can increase our thyroid function. Source: Eclampsia in the Real Organism: A Paradigm of General Distress Applicable in Infants, Adults, Etc, Diabetes, scleroderma, oils and hormones

Thyroid hormone, by keeping carbon dioxide production up, protects against the loss of sodium and magnesium. Source: Water: swelling, tension, pain, fatigue, aging

Magnesium deficiency causes inflammation. His article on calcium says that people with calcium deposits cannot improve until both their calcium and magnesium intakes are adequate. Source: Calcium and Disease: Hypertension, organ calcification, & shock, vs. respiratory energy

Magnesium is the relaxation partner of calcium in muscle, and it protects cells against calcium overload. He notes that calcium seems to help cramps by making magnesium more available. Source: Osteoporosis, harmful calcification, and nerve/muscle malfunctions, Calcium and Disease: Hypertension, organ calcification, & shock, vs. respiratory energy, Diabetes, scleroderma, oils and hormones

It is a component of newly formed bone, and he cites magnesium therapy that prevented fractures and raised bone density. Source: Osteoporosis, harmful calcification, and nerve/muscle malfunctions

Magnesium protects against iron-driven lipid peroxidation. Source: Alzheimer's: The problem of Alzheimer's disease as a clue to immortality — part 2

Fructose improves magnesium retention, a finding he used against the anti-sugar literature. Source: Sugar issues

What he suggested in practice

• Food sources he names: meats, fruits, leaves and coffee.
• Fix thyroid function, or the magnesium will not stay in the cells.
• Sodium and magnesium supplements were among the things he found helpful for premenstrual syndrome.

Where he wrote about it

This topic comes up in 37 of the articles on his site. These are the most relevant ones:

• Calcium and Disease: Hypertension, organ calcification, & shock, vs. respiratory energy · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Phosphate, activation, and aging · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Diabetes, scleroderma, oils and hormones · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Autonomic systems · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Epilepsy and Progesterone · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Water: swelling, tension, pain, fatigue, aging · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Eclampsia in the Real Organism: A Paradigm of General Distress Applicable in Infants, Adults, Etc · original on raypeat.com ↗
• Osteoporosis, harmful calcification, and nerve/muscle malfunctions · original on raypeat.com ↗

My take

I take magnesium glycinate at night, 300 to 400 mg. In the studies I have covered, magnesium improved sleep and lowered cortisol.

Quick answers

What did Ray Peat say about magnesium?

That cells need thyroid hormone and energy to retain it, that deficiency causes inflammation and cramps, and that it works with calcium to protect bone and soft tissue.

Which magnesium sources did Ray Peat mention?

Meats, fruits, leaves and coffee as foods. For eclampsia he mentions the traditional use of injected magnesium sulfate.